Factors Influencing the Pedestrian Injury Severity of Micromobility Crashes

The growth of micromobility transport in cities has created a new mobility paradigm, but this has also resulted in increased traffic conflicts and collisions. This research focuses on understanding the impacts of micromobility vehicles on pedestrian injury severity in urban areas of Spain between 2016 and 2021. The Random Forest classification model was used to identify the most significant factors and their combinations affecting pedestrian injury severity. To address the issue of unbalanced data, the synthetic minority oversampling technique was employed. The findings indicate that pedestrians' age, specifically those 70 years or older, is the most important variable in determining injury severity. Additionally, collisions at junctions or on weekends are associated with worse outcomes for pedestrians. The results highlight the combined influence of multiple factors, including offenses and distractions by micromobility users and pedestrians. These factors are more prevalent among younger micromobility users and those riding for leisure or on weekends. To enhance micromobility road safety and reduce pedestrian injuries, separating micromobility traffic from pedestrian areas is recommended, restricting micromobility vehicle use on sidewalks, providing training and information to micromobility users, conducting road safety campaigns, increasing enforcement measures, and incorporating buffer zones in bike lanes near on-street parking.

Automated summary

This research examines the impact of micromobility vehicles on pedestrian injury severity in urban areas of Spain between 2016 and 2021. The findings suggest that age and collision location or timing are significant factors affecting injury severity. Specifically, pedestrians aged 70 or older are more vulnerable to injuries, and collisions at junctions or on weekends result in worse outcomes. The study also highlights the influence of offenses and distractions by micromobility users and pedestrians. Recommendations for enhancing micromobility road safety and reducing pedestrian injuries include separating micromobility traffic from pedestrian areas and implementing training and awareness campaigns.